Rebecca Malcolm: Better vistas ahead for retail

Rebecca Malcolm.

Normally I'm one to happily indulge in a spot of retail therapy -- but come Boxing Day hitting the shops was the last thing on my mind.

It seems I was one of the minority.

The Boxing Day sales have become one of the most anticipated shopping events of the year -- and this year was no exception.

By the time the kids woke to Santa's deliveries on Christmas morning, the emails were already rolling in advertising the bargains.

Rotorua Chamber of Commerce chief Darrin Walsh expected that this year's Boxing Day was going to be one of the biggest Rotorua had ever seen -- and he may well have been right.

Paymark figures showed the Bay experienced a big jump in spending on Saturday and from all accounts Rotorua Central was humming from the time the shops opened until the time they closed.

Let's hope it has Rotorua retailers smiling as the cash registers have been ringing.

There's little doubt retail in Rotorua has had some tough times, but if this year is anything to go by things appear to be turning a corner.

Once there was a time when people would have laughed if you'd suggested the city would top the country in economic growth, but this year we saw repeated positive news on that front.

As business reporter David Porter reported last week, there have been many signs of confidence in the region this year.

Now it's also up to us as consumers -- not just the businesses -- to make sure the good news continues in 2016.